SECURE Our Democracy Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3501 To expose and deter unlawful and subversive foreign interference in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. RUSH, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. HIMES, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. TITUS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. SCHNEIDER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad- dition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To expose and deter unlawful and subversive foreign inter- ference in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3501 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguard our Elec- 2 tions and Combat Unlawful Interference in Our Democ- 3 racy Act’’ or the ‘‘SECURE Our Democracy Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 7 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given such terms in 8 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 9 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 10 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 12 mittees’’ means— 13 (A) in the House of Representatives— 14 (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs; 15 (ii) the Committee on Homeland Se- 16 curity; 17 (iii) the Committee on Financial Serv- 18 ices; 19 (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary; 20 and 21 (v) the Permanent Select Committee 22 on Intelligence; and 23 (B) in the Senate— 24 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela- 25 tions; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3501 IH (ii) the Committee on Homeland Se- 1 curity and Governmental Affairs; 2 (iii) the Committee on Banking, 3 Housing, and Urban Affairs; 4 (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary; 5 and 6 (v) the Select Committee on Intel- 7 ligence. 8 (3) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi- 9 nancial institution’’ has the meaning given such 10 term in section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 11 (4) FOREIGN INTERFERENCE.—The term ‘‘for- 12 eign interference’’, with respect to a United States 13 election, includes any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, 14 or unlawful actions or attempted actions of a foreign 15 government, or of any person acting as an agent of 16 or on behalf of a foreign government, undertaken 17 with the purpose or effect of influencing, under- 18 mining confidence in, or altering the result or re- 19 ported result of, such election, or undermining public 20 confidence in election processes or institutions. 21 (5) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 22 son’’ means— 23 (A) a natural person who is not a United 24 States person under paragraph (5)(A); or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3501 IH (B) a foreign entity or foreign government. 1 (6) UNITED STATES ELECTION.—The term 2 ‘‘United States election’’ means any election for 3 Federal office. 4 (7) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 5 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 6 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 7 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 8 United States; or 9 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 10 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 11 the United States, including a foreign branch of 12 such an entity. 13 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSONS RESPON- 14 SIBLE FOR FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN 15 UNITED STATES ELECTIONS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 18 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 19 a list of each foreign person that the Secretary, in con- 20 sultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agen- 21 cies, determines— 22 (1) was, at any time since January 1, 2015, di- 23 rectly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3501 IH or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in 1 a United States election; 2 (2) materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 3 financial, material, or technological support for, or 4 goods or services to or in support of, any activity de- 5 scribed in paragraph (1) or any person whose prop- 6 erty or interests in property are blocked pursuant to 7 this section; or 8 (3) is owned or controlled by, or to have acted 9 or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or 10 indirectly, any person whose property or interests in 11 property are blocked pursuant to this section. 12 (b) UPDATES.—The Secretary of State shall submit 13 to the appropriate congressional committees an update of 14 the list required under subsection (a) as new information 15 becomes available. 16 (c) SANCTIONS.—A foreign person on the list re- 17 quired under subsection (a) is subject to the sanctions de- 18 scribed in sections 4 and 5. 19 (d) FORM.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 21 graph (2), the list required under subsection (a) 22 shall be submitted in unclassified form. 23 (2) EXCEPTION.—The name of a foreign person 24 to be included in the list required under subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3501 IH (a) may be submitted in a classified annex only if 1 the Secretary of State— 2 (A) determines that it is in the national se- 3 curity interests of the United States to do so; 4 and 5 (B) 15 days prior to submitting any such 6 name in such a classified annex, provides to the 7 appropriate congressional committees notice of, 8 and a justification for, including or continuing 9 to include any such foreign person in any such 10 classified annex despite any publicly available 11 information indicating that such foreign person 12 is described in paragraph (1) or (2) of such 13 subsection. 14 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY; NONAPPLICABILITY 15 OF CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT 16 TO VISA RECORDS.—The unclassified portion of the 17 list required under subsection (a) shall be made 18 available to the public and published in the Federal 19 Register, without regard to the requirements of sec- 20 tion 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 21 (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect to confidentiality of 22 records pertaining to the issuance or refusal of visas 23 or permits to enter the United States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3501 IH SEC. 4. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. 1 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMISSION TO 2 THE UNITED STATES.—A foreign person on the list re- 3 quired under section 3(a) is— 4 (1) inadmissible to the United States; 5 (2) ineligible to receive a visa or other docu- 6 mentation to enter the United States; and 7 (3) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or pa- 8 roled into the United States or to receive any other 9 benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act 10 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 11 (b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The issuing consular officer 13 or the Secretary of State, (or a designee of the Sec- 14 retary of State) shall, in accordance with section 15 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 16 U.S.C. 1201(i)), revoke any visa or other entry doc- 17 umentation issued to a foreign person on the list re- 18 quired under section 3(a) regardless of when the 19 visa or other entry documentation is issued. 20 (2) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A revocation 21 under subparagraph (A) shall— 22 (A) take effect immediately; and 23 (B) automatically cancel any other valid 24 visa or entry documentation that is in the for- 25 eign person’s possession. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3501 IH (3) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 2 the Secretary of State shall prescribe such regula- 3 tions as are necessary to carry out this subsection. 4 (c) APPLICABILITY TO FOREIGN ENTITIES AND FOR- 5 EIGN GOVERNMENTS.—Subsections (a) and (b) of this 6 section shall apply to aliens who are officials of, agents 7 or instrumentalities of, working or acting on behalf of, or 8 otherwise associated with a foreign entity or foreign gov- 9 ernment that is a foreign person included on the list re- 10 quired under section 3(a) if such aliens are determined 11 by the Secretary of State to have knowingly authorized, 12 conspired to commit, been responsible for, engaged in, or 13 otherwise assisted or facilitated the actions described in 14 such section. 15 (d) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL 16 OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under this section shall not 17 apply with respect to a foreign person if admitting or pa- 18 roling such person into the United States is necessary to 19 permit the United States to comply with the Agreement 20 regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 21 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 22 November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 23 United States, or other applicable international obliga- 24 tions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3501 IH (e) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 1 The Secretary of State may waive the application of sub- 2 section (a) or (b) in the case of an alien if— 3 (1) the Secretary determines that such a waiver 4 is in the national security interests of the United 5 States; and— 6 (2) not later than 15 days prior to granting 7 such a waiver, the Secretary provides to the appro- 8 priate congressional committees notice of, and a jus- 9 tification for, such waiver. 10 (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 11 State shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to 12 carry out this section. 13 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL MEASURES. 14 (a) FREEZING OF ASSETS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 16 through the Secretary of the Treasury, shall exercise 17 all powers granted by the International Emergency 18 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (ex- 19 cept that the requirements of section 202 of such 20 Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply) to the extent 21 necessary to freeze and prohibit all transactions in 22 all property and interests in property of a foreign 23 person that is on the list required under section 3(a) 24 of this Act if such property or interests in property 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3501 IH are in the United States, are or come within the 1 United States, or are or come within the possession 2 or control of a United States person. 3 (2) APPLICABILITY TO FOREIGN ENTITIES AND 4 FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—Paragraph (1) shall 5 apply to aliens who are officials of, agents or instru- 6 mentalities of, working or acting on behalf of, or 7 otherwise associated with a foreign entity or foreign 8 government that is a foreign person included on the 9 list required under section 3(a) if such aliens are de- 10 termined by the President, acting through the Sec- 11 retary of the Treasury, to have knowingly author- 12 ized, conspired to commit, been responsible for, en- 13 gaged in, or otherwise assisted or facilitated the ac- 14 tions described in such section 3(a). 15 (b) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 16 The Secretary of the Treasury may waive the application 17 of subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that such a 18 waiver is in the national security interests of the United 19 States. Not less than 15 days prior to granting such a 20 waiver, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate con- 21 gressional committees notice of, and a justification for, 22 such waiver. 23 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3501 IH (1) PENALTIES.—A foreign person that vio- 1 lates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or 2 causes a violation of this section or any regulation, 3 license, or order issued to carry out this section shall 4 be subject to the penalties specified in subsections 5 (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) 7 to the same extent as a person that commits an un- 8 lawful act described in subsection (a) of such sec- 9 tion. 10 (2) APPLICABILITY TO FOREIGN ENTITIES AND 11 FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—Paragraph (1) shall 12 apply to aliens who are officials of, agents or instru- 13 mentalities of, working or acting on behalf of, or 14 otherwise associated with a foreign entity or foreign 15 government that is a foreign person included on the 16 list required under section 3(a) if such aliens are de- 17 termined by the President, acting through the Sec- 18 retary of the Treasury, to have knowingly author- 19 ized, conspired to commit, been responsible for, en- 20 gaged in, or otherwise assisted or facilitated the ac- 21 tions described in such section 3(a). 22 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL INSTITU- 23 TIONS.—Not later than 120 days after the date of 24 the enactment of this Act, the President, acting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3501.IH H3501 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3501 IH through the Secretary of the Treasury, shall pre- 1 scribe or amend regulations as needed to require 2 each financial institution that is a United States 3 person and has withi [Text truncated for display. 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